Message to Christianveg from P.E.: How
do you reconcile your vegetarian beliefs about God and animals with
the ancient sacrifice of animals at God’s temple in Jerusalem (mandated by God, himself)?

Reply: I would not describe my beliefs
as "vegetarian beliefs." One of my core beliefs is that God cares
about all God's Creation, including God's creatures. There is ample
biblical support for this conviction, and there is similarly ample
support that the Bible prohibits cruelty to animals. These
conclusions alone are enough to take the stance that one should
avoid contributing to the inherent cruelties of modern factory
farming, if at all possible. If one believes that God is about love
and compassion, as I do, then I don't see how one can envision God
regarding modern factory farming and calling it "good." This view
does not preclude certain meat-eating in certain situations, for
example people who don't have access to healthy plant-based food or
the rare person who needs meat for medical reasons.

About God's role in sacrifices, I
don't think the Bible offers a clear, unequivocal view about whether
God desires sacrifices, much less why God might want sacrifices.
The later prophets objected to sacrifice, but the prescriptions in
Leviticus seem to encourage sacrifices in certain situations. Never
are sacrifices done for the sake of pleasure, which makes them
distinctive practices from meat-eating in the U.S. Most Americans who eat meat do
so not because they need to but because they like to.

I hope this satisfactorily addresses
your good question.

Steve Kaufman, CVA chair

P.E.: Thanks for your
response. I happen to agree with much of what you said. God’s laws
do include prohibitions against cruelty to animals.

Yet, it is very clear,
if you believe the Bible, that God specifically stipulated when and
how animals were to be slaughtered and sacrificed at his temple.
This plainly indicates that God has no objection to the concept of
killing animals. Animal activists often present a message that says
meat-eating is sinful, per se. I believe that is a completely
unbiblical position.

Thanks and God Bless.

2. Activist ReportAnne writes: This
is my report on the booth I ran and operated for CVA at 'The Art of
Being Green Festival'
Lanark Village, Ontario,
Canada, July 14th
and 15th 2007.

It was the most fun time
I have ever had volunteering at any event. I would love to do this
again. I don't know the total numbers of visitors who attended the
event but they were hoping for about 4,000 people.

Flo helped me, and she is
a very wonderful person with the gift of encouragement and
organization. God knew I needed her incredible skills to make it
through the event. We laughed and enjoyed the adventure from start
to finish. Several other friends came by to say hi and show their
support.

I asked, via email, a
number of companies to help sponsor the table and in the end Amy's
Food Kitchen was very generous to provide coupons for whole meals,
plus $1 and 55c coupons off their products. I bought some vegan
Amy's food and offered these or a selection of red, green and hot
peppers, lavender, thyme, garlic chives or sage plants as prizes. We
had an hourly draw. A fun way to hear CVA's name mentioned from
center stage every hour, very often by a very clearly spoken Town
Crier, all dressed up in his full regalia! The rest of the coupons
we encouraged people to take.

One of my very talented
daughters helped design and make a large freestanding display board
she titled “shape your world one plate at a time.” The display board
had pictures of animals with questions about them like; did you know
pigs are thought to have intelligence beyond that of an average
3-year-old human child? There were also pictures of famous vegans
with their quotes. The display board asked the questions, if there
was proof that a vegan diet could make you live longer… If a vegan
diet was good for the environment and reduce global warming… If you
knew that animals felt pain, felt fear and felt love towards their
young…. Would you make the change? The rest of the board had
information supporting the answers to these questions.

On the table we also had
a basket containing artificial vegetables and a selection of
ready-made vegan
products. On Saturday, we gave away some vegan muffins and on Sunday
we put out a variety of, free, vegan fruit bars. Behind the table
we had a large bamboo screen. So, once we had the CVA booklets out
on display along with the framed print of the Strutt “Peace”
painting, it all looked very professional on the beautiful green
tablecloth.

There was a farm selling
a variety of exotic meats and they brought some lambs that they let
run about after the Sunday morning worship service. I didn't see
them but these adorable creatures brought some people over to our
table quite upset.

Nine people signed up for
the CVA e-newsletter. Twenty-six other people wanted more
information. Several also showed an interest in the vegan potluck
group we have going in my home and I promised to send them an invite
next time we meet.

Thank you, again, for all
the wonderful information booklets you sent to make this table a
success.